Peasant
Clothing
Peasant men wore stockings or tunics, while women wore
long gowns with sleeveless tunics and wimples to cover
their hair. Sheepskin cloaks and woolen hats and mittens
were worn in winter for protection from the cold and
rain. Leather boots were covered with wooden patens to
keep the feet dry. The outer clothes were almost never
laundered, but the linen underwear was regularly washed.
The smell of wood smoke that permeated the clothing
seemed to act as a deodorant. Peasant women spun wool
into the threads that were woven into the cloth for these
garments.

Fur
and Jewelry
Fur was often used to line the garments of the wealthy.
Jewelry was lavish, much of it imported and often used as
security against loans. Gem cutting was not invented
until the fifteenth century, so most stones were not very
lustrous. Ring brooches were the most popular item from
the twelfth century on. Chaucer's prioress in the Canterbury
Tales wore a brooch with the inscription "Amor
vincit omnia" ("Love conquers all"), not a
particularly appropriate slogan for a nun. Diamonds
became popular in Europe in the fourteenth century. By
the mid-fourteenth century there were laws to control who
wore what jewelry , and knights were not permitted to
wear rings. Sometimes clothes were garnished with silver,
but only the wealthy could wear such items.